Missile RIM-66 Standard

The Standard missile program commenced in 1963 to replace the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar systems. The objective was to produce a family of missiles compatible with existing shipboard fire control systems. The RIM-66A, the medium-range variant, entered service in 1967, utilizing the fuselage of the earlier Tartar missile to maintain compatibility with existing launchers and magazines.

The RIM-66 is a solid-fuel, surface-to-air missile capable of secondary anti-ship operations. Propulsion is provided by a dual-thrust rocket motor. Guidance mechanisms vary by variant. The SM-1MR utilizes semi-active radar homing. The SM-2MR introduced an autopilot with inertial and command mid-course guidance, requiring target illumination only during the terminal phase. This capability allows vessels to time-share illumination radars and engage multiple targets in succession. Later iterations, such as the SM-2MR Block IIIB, incorporate dual infrared and semi-active terminal seekers for use in electronic countermeasure environments or against targets with small radar cross-sections. The Block IIIC variant features an active missile seeker. Warhead options include blast fragmentation types such as the MK 90, MK 115, and MK 125, which utilize radar and contact fuzes.

The missile is widely deployed and is integrated with the Aegis combat system and New Threat Upgrade equipped vessels. It is launched from Mark 13, Mark 26, and Mark 41 Vertical Launching Systems. Current operators include the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Taiwan, among others.

Combat use began in the early 1970s during the Vietnam War. In 1988, during Operation Praying Mantis, the missile was utilized against surface and air targets, including the disabling of the Iranian missile boat Joshan. In July 1988, two SM-2MRs launched from the USS Vincennes destroyed Iran Air Flight 655 after it was misidentified. Between 2016 and 2024, the missile was used in multiple engagements off the coast of Yemen and in the Red Sea to intercept anti-ship cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. In 2024, a German frigate launched two SM-2s in a friendly fire incident involving a US drone; both missiles failed to intercept due to technical defects.